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Synaptosomal and Brain Mitochondrial Lipids in Hibernating and Cold‐Acclimated Golden Hamsters
Author(s) -
Demediuk Paul,
Moscatelli Ezio A.
Publication year - 1983
Publication title -
journal of neurochemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.75
H-Index - 229
eISSN - 1471-4159
pISSN - 0022-3042
DOI - 10.1111/j.1471-4159.1983.tb08098.x
Subject(s) - mesocricetus , golden hamster , biology , ganglioside , biochemistry , hamster , synaptosome , plasmalogen , chemistry , phospholipid , endocrinology , membrane
Synaptosomes and mitochondria were isolated from the brains of warm‐adapted, hibernating, and cold‐acclimated golden hamsters ( Mesocricetus auratus ). Lipid extracts of these subcellular fractions were prepared and assayed for plasmenylethanolamin (ethanolamine plasmalogen) and cholesterol levels. The ganglioside composition of synaptosomes was also determined. Samples from the hibernating animals showed characteristic changes in lipid composition. These changes include decreases in plasmenylethanolamine levels and a shift in the ganglioside composition toward a higher percentage of the more polar gangliosides. Those animals which were exposed to cold and did not hibernate (cold‐acclimated) showed no such changes. Fatty acid analyses of synaptosomal and mitochondrial ethanolamine glycerophospholipids demonstrated a similar trend. Samples from hibernators showed decreases in 16:0, 18:0, and 22:6 (n‐3), and increases in 16:1, 18:1, and 20:4 (n‐6) fatty acids. No changes were detectable in samples from cold‐acclimated animals, indicating that hibernating and cold‐acclimated hamsters represent chemically distinct populations.